Ilona Kalamon

Józef Andrzej Załuski and Literary Community of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Ilona Kalamon

Catholic University of Lublin

Józef Andrzej Załuski and Literary Community of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Keywords: publishing market, history of books, Józef Andrzej Załuski, Załuski's library, literary community

The following presentation highlights the profile of Józef Andrzej Załuski, the founder of the Załuski’s Library and the Great Crown Referendary and notably referencing his contributions to the literary community of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Załuski’s pursuit of stimulating the publishing market in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth will designate the object of reflection based on his correspondence with figures such as Józef Stanisław Sapieha (the Grand Referendary of Lithuania) and Jan Fryderyk Sapieha (the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania). The range of undertakings include: 1) constituting a reading club called Asocjacja kilkunastu lub kilkudziesięciu uczonych lub w czytaniu nowo wychodzących w cudzych krajach ciekawych lukubracji kochających się osób (Association of a Dozen or Several Dozen Scholars or Persons Fond of Reading Newly Published Works of Interest from Foreign Countries); 2) establishing a relationship with printing houses in Vilnius and importing new publications from Vilnius to the Załuski’s Library in Warsaw;
 3) gathering invaluable manuscripts from private collections across the country and

4) establishing a new publishing series titled Zebranie Rytmów przez Wierszopisów Żyjących lub Naszego Wieku Zeszłych Pisanych (A Collection of Rhythms Written by Contemporary Poets or Those of Our Era Who Have Passed Away). A key purpose of these endeavours was to promote the Załuski’s Library and to emphasise Józef Andrzej Załuski’s role as a crucial cultural reformer of the 18th century.